JOF to use sheaf of paddy, AL allies boat, JP plough

Eight registered parties will take part in the 11th parliamentary elections under the ruling Awami League-led alliance with boat as their electoral symbol while 11 parties, including those in the Jatiya Oikya Front, will use Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s electoral symbol sheaf of paddy.
The parties and alliances informed the Election Commission of their decision on electoral alliance and electoral symbol as the deadline expired on Thursday.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sent a letter to the commission on Thursday stating that 11 registered parties, including BNP, would use its electoral symbol sheaf of paddy in the polls.
The 10 other registered parties are the Gono Forum, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction led by ASM Abdur Rob and the Krishak Sramik Janata League in the Jatiya Oikya Front and the Bangladesh Kalyan Party, the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, the Muslim League and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in the BNP-led allaince.
A commission official told New Age that the Awami League submitted a list of eight registered parties in its alliance.
The seven other registered parties are the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction led Hasanul Haq Inu, the Workers Party of Bangladesh, the Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal, the Ganatantri Party, the National Awami Party-NAP, the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation and the Jatiya Party faction led by Anwar Hossain Manju.
He said that the eight parties would use boat as electoral symbol while a total of 11 parties in the BNP-led alliance and the Jatiya Oikya Front would use sheaf of paddy. 
On Thursday, the Jatiya Oikya Front informed the commission that four registered parties in the alliance — the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Gono Forum, the JSD faction led by Rob and the Krishak Sramik Janata League — would use sheaf of paddy as their common electoral symbol.
Earlier on November 11, the Awami League, the BNP-led alliance, the Gono Forum, JSD and KSJL and the Jatiya Oikya Front informed the commission of their decision about their alliances and sharing of electoral symbol.
The Awami League, however, had not disclose the names of its allies saying that it was confidential and the allies would use boat while BNP had said that eight registered parties in the BNP-led alliance would use sheaf of paddy as their electoral symbol.
On November 11, the Gono Forum informed the commission that if the party joined the polls it would contest the elections as a party in the Jatiya Oikya Front with the party electoral symbol rising sun.
Krishak Sramik Janata League had said that it would join the polls as a party in the Jatiya Oikya Front with the party electoral symbol ‘Gamchha’ or the electoral symbol of the front.
The JSD faction had informed the commission that it would join the polls as a party in the oikya front and its candidates nominated by the front would use sheaf of paddy as electoral symbol and party candidates would use its own symbol star.
On Thursday, the Jatiya Oikya Front decided to take part in the 11th parliamentary polls with sheaf of paddy as its common electoral symbol for a direct ballot battle with the ruling Awami League-led alliance 
A meeting of the top leaders of the front at its chief Dr Kamal Hossain’s chamber at Motijheel in Dhaka made the decision, Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna told reporters.
Later, a delegation of the front led by Gono Forum executive president Subrata Chowdhury went to the Election Commission and submitted at letter informing the commission of the decision.
Subrata Chowdhury told New Age that all parties in the front would contest the election with the sheaf of paddy as the common electoral symbol as this time there would be a straight ballot battle between the opposition alliance and the ruling alliance.
Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh on Thursday informed the commission that the party would use its own electoral symbol winnowing-fan and some its contestants on nomination from the Jukta Front would use AL’s boat if they join in AL-led alliance.
BDB secretary general Abdul Mannan in a letter informed the commission of the party’s decision.
At a press conference, commission secretary Helaluddin Ahmed told reporters that the name of Bikalpa Dhara was not on the list of the AL-led alliance submitted to the commission.
He said that the name of Jatiya Party was also missing on the list of AL-led alliance as.
Jatiya Party presidium member Sunil Suva Roy told New Age that his party informed the commission that its allies — Khelafat Majlish Bangladesh and Bangladesh Islami Front — would participate in the polls with Jatiya Party’s electoral symbol plough.
Bangladesh Islami Front, however, informed the commission that it would participate in the polls under the Jatiya Party-led alliance with its own symbol candle light.
Communist Party of Bangladesh president Mujahidul Islam Selim told New Age that three parties of the alliance — CPB, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh and the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh — would contest the polls using their respective electoral symbols.
He said that the decision about the five other non-registered parties in the alliance would be taken later at the respective party meeting and alliance meeting.

News Courtesy: wwwnewagebd.net